


Fall With Me

by TerribleTwo



Category: Creepypasta - Fandom, Marble Hornets
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, I Will Go Down With This Ship, I love these two idiots so much god damn, Idiots in Love, M/M, This happens after the events of marble hornets, Ticcimask - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-29
Updated: 2019-05-14
Packaged: 2019-10-18 18:11:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 6,040
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17585801
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TerribleTwo/pseuds/TerribleTwo
Summary: Toby is reckless. Hes hyper, violent, and a multitude of other awful traits. So why does Tim keep finding himself running after him?In which Tim patches Toby up from a nasty fight and finds himself stuck with the young proxy. Takes place after the events of marble hornets





	1. Bandages

**Author's Note:**

> I love this pairing with all my heart. This has been my ted talk thank you.

Heavy oak crashed into brick. Tramping inside Tim shook off clumps of mud and clotted blood as he walked. Other residents be damned he just spent three days in the company of his least favorite person in the world. Not that it mattered, at this time of day most of the manor would be sleeping or out on their own conquests

Vaguely he was aware of the other proxies trailing behind him but other than Kate who he nodded at as she slipped up to her room, he didn't bother acknowledging them. Gently he felt Brian nudge at his shoulder pointing at the stairs. Tim nodded watching his friend retreat to their shared room. About to follow, 130 pounds of lanky teen hit his back almost knocking him to the floor. 

"What the fuck Rodgers?" Tim bucked trying to shake off the boy who had wrapped two strong arms around his neck and was currently clinging to his back like his life depended on it, which, considering Tim was literally going to murder him when he fell off, wasn't too far of a stretch.

"Maskyyyy," A nasally voice whined back at him legs clenching even tighter around his waist. "I'm bored."

"Get off of me!" He snarled clumsily aiming sharp elbows behind him. Toby didn't even bother avoiding his blows cackling as bone met soft flesh. With a twist he managed to knock the proxy off, onto the floor, where he lay chuckling.

"Asshole," Tim muttered flipping him off as went to his room.

By the time he had made it inside an uncomfortable moistness had sunk into his back where Toby had been. "What was he doing? Rolling in mud? It feels warm." He muttered walking to his closet. However, realization struck freezing him in place. With abandoned frenzy he began struggling with his jacket swearing all the while.

"I swear to God if he peed on me!" Reduced to only his under shirt he flipped his jacket in his hands trying to find the source of the wetness.

His hand hit something moist almost immediately. Jerking away Tim saw the palm of his hand was stained red. Furrowing his brow he turned the fabric around. The entire back of his jacket was soaked in blood, more than what should be there for a simple retrieval mission. Tim tried to ignore the worry that shot through him.

What were the chances that this wasn't Toby's blood? The odds were a lot lower than he'd like to admit. He should probably check on him.

Tim hesitated for another moment. Just because there was a chance that the guy was dying from blood loss didn't mean that he had to check on him. There were always other pastas to send. Creeps who drank blood, and tortured for fun, and would be more than happy to feast on an unwitting victim...

Damn him for being one of the few people in the house with an actual conscience.

Waiting for another few seconds in hope that the growing worry festering in the pit of his stomach would drop like a teenage boys balls he finally gave in. Shrugging on a new jacket he sludged across the hall to Toby’s room. Not even bothering to knock he managed to push the door with a little force.

"Rodgers, you in here?" After a second of silence Tim cautiously poked his head in, on the lookout for any hatchets aimed at his face.

Dirty clothes and old food containers littered the floor, which explained the difficulty opening the door. In the center of the chaos lay the proxy in question surrounded by a puddle of red.

In an instant Tim was at his side hoisting Toby onto his shoulder. He pulled him into the bathroom sitting him on the toilet before taking off the stained hoodie.

Tim sucked in a gasp. Underneath his bulky jacket Toby was unhealthily scrawny, with thick raised scars that looked painful to touch and were almost hard to see beneath the layer of blood smeared on his chest. All of it seemed to originate from the hole that started below his right ribcage which continued to gush as Tim stared.

How had he not noticed this?

Quickly he tied the ruined sleeves around Toby hoping to slow the bleeding before diving under the sink only to find cobwebs and rotten meat. Of course, the younger boy wouldn't have any first aid equipment.

“Damn moron,” Tim hissed running back to his room to get his medical kit. Brian who was laying on his bed, shot up. He opened his mouth, but the brunet shook his head.

"Tell you later.”

He raced back down the hall only to freeze in the bathroom. Toby was the picture of death. He slumped against the bathroom wall blood dripping through the thick fabric on his chest. Not even the tics that haunted him in his sleep moved him. Then Toby’s chest rose. Tim let out a breath he didn’t know he was holding. Toby was okay, he was going to be okay.

Wasting no time, he grabbed the gauze only to realize that he didn’t know where to start. Passed out as Toby was and absolutely no help it would be impossible to sit him straight.

Tim really wished Jack or Brian were here. They were better at this kind of stuff. But while Tim certainly wasn’t EJ when it came to medical shit, he also wouldn’t try to eat Toby, so he guessed there was its own set of pros and cons.

Finally, he decided to pick the brunette up and slide under him so that Toby could sit on his lap and rest against his chest. He carefully disinfected the wound and bandaged his chest. That would have to do until Toby could get some real help, although knowing the proxy’s infamously low recovery time he’d probably be trying to run around the next day. Tim put the bandages back onto the counter and looked at the man currently slumped across his chest. The sight of the normally hyper guy actually relaxed was almost endearing. Or it would have been if wasn't leaking blood, drool, and bad life choices everywhere.

Now that the adrenaline wore off Toby felt a lot heavier and it was only through sheer determination that Tim got the nineteen-year-old onto his unmade bed. He decided to leave the mess in the bathroom. Let Toby clean it up. Now that he wasn’t immediately going to die Tim felt annoyance creep into him. Toby was lucky he was such a nice person; a better pasta would have just put him out of his misery.

While Tim waited for Toby’s breathing to even out, he studied the man in front of him. Without the stupid grin that was usually plastered from ear to ear, he looked different, more unguarded. Almost without thinking he reached out and ran his fingers through surprisingly soft hazel hair.

Toby shifted in his sleep. Tim flew back like a startled animal waiting for any signs that the chatty guy would wake up. When the brunet showed no signs of moving Tim sighed settling into a more relaxed pose. He didn’t think his reputation could ever live down anyone knowing that he didn’t completely hate the guy, besides it was best that no one knew that he still felt, safer.

Taking one last glance at Toby, he walked out the door.


	2. The one I edited right after my bio exam

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finished writing this while watching Tim’s rocksmith live stream. It was nice I had half a taco and an empty room. It took a while because instead of editing I started a self-indulgent ticcimask fic I’ll never post. Haha oops. Anyways chapter 3-5 are mostly written just need to fix them up a bit. Trying to post the next one in a week.

Tim strode back to his room nervously glancing for anyone who may have seen him with Toby. Thankfully the hall was empty. Now that Tim wasn’t running on adrenaline the weight of the situation hit him. Being alone and taking care of Toby’s wounds like that felt…strange, almost like him and the little psycho were friends. To make it worse he couldn’t help but recall the last time someone he cared about knew lay bleeding on the floor, a bullet buried in his side. 

Back in his own room Tim proceeded to get comfortable, and as he did, he couldn’t help but tell Brian Hoodie about what had happened. Old habits died hard he guessed. The man gave him a strange look (amazing how quickly Tim had learned to read his expressions through the mask) but returned to winding through his camera giving no hint to the masked entity’s thoughts. Although Brian was his best, and now his only friend, it could be so hard to read him. Not that there was much to read anymore. 

With no help coming from Brian Tim figured the best course of action was to simply forget about what he did. If he was lucky, he’d lose his memory of the incident altogether. Wouldn’t be the first time he would be missing hours, maybe he could make it work for him. 

With that comfort in mind he decided to take a nap. He deserved it after a day like this. 

… 

Tim awoke with Jay’s name on his lips, something that hadn’t happened in months, back when he still mourned Brian and Seth and Sarah and even Alex. Trying to get the image of blood stains and still bodies out of his head he figured the best course of action would be to get some food. 

Putting the mask back on he made his way down to the kitchen where hopefully he’d find a few of the pastas that lived in the house, anyone was better than being alone with his thoughts. Plus he was really hungry. The last few days had been a blackout blur of running and fighting with brief slips back into consciousness. There wasn’t really a lot of time to get something to eat and Masky was awful about remembering that kind of stuff too, something he got from Tim he guessed. Was it too much to ask for an alternate personality that ate right and went to the gym? 

Opening the door to the kitchen he almost walked smack dab into Toby. 

“Rodgers.” Tim nodded his head hoping that Toby wouldn’t notice how his insides froze when he saw the guy who an hour previously had been bleeding out. 

Dark eyes squinted at him barely visible under the signature orange goggles the proxy wore. He could practically feel them inspecting him and Tim was immensely thankful for the mask that hid his features. Thankfully the brunet only shook his head and walked off. 

Tim breathed a side of relief. The kid was weird, he knew that, you have to be at least a little weird to murder people for a living, but there was no reason to suspect that he knew something. 

Still, a little voice whispered, what if…what if Toby did remember what happened? 

Tim tried to shove the thought down. Rodgers was passed out the entire time, and even if he wasn’t. he would have blabbed by now. Toby wasn’t exactly known for his stealth, that kid probably couldn’t keep a secret for more than an hour without combusting. 

Either way, Tim wasn’t really hungry anymore. 

… 

As usual Toby had been paired up with him for a quick excursion. Theoretically, he knew he’d known he’d have to see the proxy again, but it was so different to actually have to be with him. Every time Tim looked at the brunet all he could see was him collapsed in a puddle of his own blood. And then the image would shift, twisting and warping until it was no longer Toby but HIM. Slumped against the wall like a ragdoll, blood gushing from the wound in his side and unlike before, Tim couldn’t save him. He couldn’t do anything except stare frozen in fear as his best friend was dying, dying, he’s dying and it’s Tim’s fault, itstimsfault, itstimsfaultitstimsfaultitstimsfault- 

“Masky?” 

Tim jolted forward transported back into the bleak forest he unfortunately called a home. For a moment he was dazed before he remembered why he was there in that hell hole. The place where all he had to do was follow orders and try not to be murdered. Where no one knew his true name, something he hadn’t heard since He died. Feeling himself start to spiral in his thoughts again he shook himself out of it glancing towards where Toby stood a puzzled look on his face. 

“What Rodgers?” Tim snapped trying to cover up where his mind had wandered. 

Toby’s neck cracked to the side. “Nothing. Just saying were back already.” 

“Oh,” Tim said, feeling a bit bad for yelling. He fell back walking at Toby’s side, casually checking for bullet wounds out of the corner of his eye, as ridiculous as it felt. The people they fought didn’t even have guns. 

“What?” Toby creaked out twisting his neck again. “You keep looking at me like that.” 

Tim rolled his eyes. “Just making sure you didn’t die on me I couldn’t be that lucky huh?” 

Toby didn’t say anything but as Tim walked past him and to his own room he was well aware of the feeling of Toby’s eyes on his back. 

… 

Tim collapsed into a heap as soon as he got inside his room, but to his frustration sleep didn’t come. 

Thoughts of the young proxy played through his head, most of them involving his gruesome demise. 

Was Toby okay? He seemed fine and hopefully after almost dying he’d be a little more responsible and make sure that nothing was wrong. Still there was plenty of places he couldn’t see. Would Toby even think to check those? And who would he go to? Obviously not Tim, they were rivals, and nurse Ann was a possibility but that would mean that she would tell him, something Toby’s pride wouldn’t allow. He guessed that left EJ…a doctor who ate his patients. Fuck. Maybe he should check on him. 

No, Tim scolded himself. Toby was an adult he could take care of himself… 

Tim couldn’t even kind of pretend that was true. 

Sick of trying to fake the illusion of sleep, Tim shrugged on his shoes again. Maybe if he just walked past Toby’s room it would help quiet down his thoughts. 

The house was quiet, something unusual for the time of day. Strolling along he noticed that Toby’s door was just barely cracked open. Perfect. Tim could take a quick glance in and then leave. Slowing as he reached the opening he casually angled his mask to the side but before he could take a good look a heavy weight hit him in the stomach, making him slam into the wall. 

“Got you!” A familiar voice yelled in triumph. 

“Toby what the fuck?” Tim snarled, lashing out at the teen, all previous fears of him being in danger forgotten. No, now Toby was really was going to be murdered, cause Tim was going to do it. 

“I knew it was you who helped me!” Toby hissed clinging onto his torso like a dog with a bone. 

Tim butted his elbow against Toby’s head, anger covering whatever nervousness he might have had. “I don’t know what you’re talking about Rodgers, but I swear to the fucked up eldritch horror you worship that you don’t get off me I’m gonna make you wish I did.” 

“Just admit it.” Toby yelled even as Tim began to pry his arms from around his waist. “You left your first aid kit in my room.” 

Tim pushed him off with a final harsh shove. “Toby I have never left anything in your room, because, you moron, I’ve never been in your room, and if the operator permit hopefully never will.” 

Toby opened his mouth to fire out a retort but before he could he froze. Wordlessly his mouth twitched and his nose scrunched in confusion. 

Tim watched rage turning into worry as Toby wobbled dangerously before his knees buckled and he was falling. 

Tim dove for him hoisting Toby into his arms before he could hit the ground. 

“This is why you don’t tackle people down after being shot.” Tim muttered half dragging him into the room. 

“So you did do it! As soon as I saw the first aid kit in the bathroom, I knew it was you.” 

“Yes okay, I helped. Sorry for saving your life.” Tim snapped putting the injured man on the bed as gently as he could, despite the fact that he couldn’t feel pain. 

Tim dropped to his knees lifting the side of Toby’s jacket to run cold fingers over gauze and skin. The cloth looked old, like Toby hadn’t been changing it, which knowing the proxy he probably hadn’t even realized he should. 

“Hey what are you doing asshole?” Toby snapped pushing at Tim’s shoulder. 

The wound had opened again dripping blood at an alarming rate but still less then the last time Tim saw it. 

“Hold this.” He grabbed Toby’s hand and pushed it against the growing dark patch on his shirt. 

Ignoring his confused shouts Tim walked to the bathroom grabbing gauze which sure enough he had left on the counter. 

Moving back to Toby’s side he sat back down and moved Toby’s hand out of his way. Tim tried to keep everything as professional as possible all the while of abruptly aware of how Toby’s eyes traced over his face before flickering down to his hands and then back. Tim wasn’t sure what he was looking for maybe pity, or a sign of weakness, or something else that might earn Tim a punch in the face. The silence in the room was deafening. Tim’s fingers trembled. 

“All done.” Tim sighed letting the fabric of Toby’s jacket fall back down. “This time try to change your bandages before they get too old, okay?” 

He pushed himself to his feet letting the injured man run his hand down his side, feeling the cloth through his shirt. 

“Thanks.” Toby murmured. 

“No problem.” 

“You’re not going to give your boyfriend a goodbye kiss?” A familiar voice teased and Tim whirled around only to see Ben in the door way, one hand on his phone. He jumped for him but the spirit disappeared into a mess of pixels with a set of giggles. 

Knowing that by now Ben had probably already saved whatever pictures he took to a million different places Tim didn’t bother chasing him down. Sheepishly he turned back to Toby. “Sorry, I should have closed the door.” 

Toby shook his head a thick red blush coating his cheeks. “It’s fine.” 

Poor kid, he must get embarrassed easily. 

“Don’t worry, I’m sure no one will care.” Giving what he hoped was a comforting pat to Toby’s shoulder Tim left. 


	3. Hiatus over

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so short I swear. We'll be back to regular updates soon but anyways hiatus is over more on that below.

For such a small hospital it was no surprise that the security would be lax. Although dusk had already hit, he could see no lights from the building and while experience had taught him that did not mean a security guard was not there, it certainly was favorable.

From the side of the building gloved hands pushed at an old window which rattled in its frame but remained shut. Locked. That was fine, he had expected this. While he couldn’t break it open the wooden frame was old and with a bit of shoving, he managed to shake the lock from its place.

The window slid open and he snuck through the gap he’d created closing it softly behind him. In the reflection of the streetlight a mask could be seen before the man turned into the darkness.

The halls were silent, filled only with the sounds of the masked mans footsteps as he passed. He didn’t bother with the rooms he passed but when he reached the third hallway he stopped. The door he found was unlabeled, but he had been through enough hospitals to know this is where the real money was kept.

Instead of a lock a small keypad hung below the handle, which he jiggled, just to be sure it wasn’t open before stepping back.

The masked man glanced down the hall. He had not seen a security guard, but he would have to be quick. Electric things often had alarms.

Bracing himself he slammed his shoulder into the door. To his surprise it swung open sending him sprawling into a room lined with drawers.

The first he checked was filled with premade shots, which he slammed closed as soon as he opened it. The second had a few tablets which he rifled through but ultimately ignored. The third, liquid medicine. Open. Slam. Open. Slam. Open. Slam. Open.

The masked man paused. The final drawer had shelves upon shelves of orange bottles stuffed to the brim with everything from antidepressants to anticonvulsants, all neatly lined up from A to Z. It almost made his job to easy. If not for the glaringly obvious empty spot just where what he was looking for should be.

Under his mask the man frowned. Not willing to accept that his endeavor had been in vain he read through each familiar name, prying them out of place to check every description.

Nothing. Not even a hint to where it might have been moved too.

He slammed his fist into the wall, the pain bringing an almost relief to the anger that encompassed him upon losing the bottle.

How the fuck could there be nothing there? He was so careful. He worked so hard.

His hand hit the wall again leaving a dent and in the distance he could he hear a siren.

There weren’t many options left…what was he going to do?

The flash of red and blue interrupted his pitying. In a flash he was gone throwing himself out the window and hitting the ground so hard he felt his shoulder click but he didn’t dare stop. He ran until he hit the tree line and even then he didn’t stop until the blare of sirens faded into the distance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had all these chapters written out and I was really happy with them. But then I was going over my outline and I realized that my story felt like suuuper flat. I took April off to rework some stuff and now I have a good chunk of it done so hopefully more consistent updates soon. (Or at least once finals stop kicking my ass)


	4. Tim takes a trip

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> my computer crashed twice while writing this chapter so i'm kind of just done

Tim’s grimy jacket hit the floor. After the day he had he wanted two things, a hot shower and a nap, not necessarily in that order. Before he even had the chance to start the water he was interrupted by a stuttering knock against his door.

Tim instinctively glanced towards the empty bed in the corner of the room but shook his head. Brian never knocked. Throwing open the door he was instantly smacked in the chest with enough force to send him stumbling back.

“Ibroughtyourkit.”

Tim blinked.

“You left it, so I figured I’d bring it back.” Toby said, standing so close that if Tim closed the door, he’d hit him.

“Uh, thanks.” Tim tossed it backwards onto his bed hoping against all odds that this would be all Toby came here for. Instead Toby peered around Tim to look inside his room standing on the balls of his feet to see inside. Tim stepped in front of him blocking his sight.  


“Did you want something?”  


Orange goggles turned, studying him with an intensity that made Tim wish he had his jacket.  


Toby grinned. “Yeah.”  


When it became clear that he had intention of telling Tim whatever it was he came for Tim stepped back. “Come in.”  


Toby’s eyes darted over everything in the room, before fixating on the tiny orange bottle Tim had left on his dresser. Tim shoved it in his pocket with a glare that told Toby exactly what would happen if he dared make a comment. Toby only shrugged and went back to looking at the rest of the room.  


It wasn’t particularly interesting, Tim knew that for a fact. Unlike many of the other residents he had never bothered unpacking his stuff so the room was practically empty except for the default furniture that had already been inside when Tim moved in. He preferred it this way. This wasn’t a home, it was a prison, he didn’t want to forget that.  


However, the way Toby seemed fascinated on the few items Tim had left out would have been cute on anyone else. It kind of reminded him of a certain camera man, always trying to find some kind of clue in the mundane objects of his normal life. All Toby needed was a recorder to shove in people’s faces at the worst times.  


“Toby,” Tim said after a few seconds had passed. “What’s going on?”  


“Can’t I visit a friend?” Toby smiled. “I’ve never been in you room all these years. Figured it was time to break the cycle since you’ve seen mine twice. But this is pretty damn boring. What are you a clean freak or something?”  


Of course he had come to annoy him. Tim though he wanted to talk about something serious. After what happened before he had wondered if things between them would change. Good to know Toby was still the same obnoxious idiot as normal.  


“You’re free to leave.”  


“I’m just saying that it looks like a hotel in here.” He exclaimed running his hand over Brian’s untouched bed.  


“Stop touching things. You know Hoodie doesn’t like that.” Tim hissed.  


“Ew wait this is Hoodie’s?” Toby pulled his hand back.  


“And it was fine if it was mine? Listen if you don’t want something then get out.”  


The grin slid off Toby’s face.  


“I just was thinking, that um,” Toby fiddled with the sleeve of his jacket and he made an incomprehensible gesture with his arm.  


Tim glanced at the kit on his bed before putting two and two together.  


“Do you want me to…” He trailed off.  


Toby shrugged his shoulders an emotionless expression on his face and Tim might have believed his calm façade if not for how he was cracking his neck with enough force that Tim worried he might break it.  


Tim was careful to be gentle. He brushed over bruised skin with as light of a touch he could manage while checking for broken bones and he outlined the curve of sharp ribs with trembling hands, unable to stop shaking. He accidentally pressed hard on a bruise and Toby sprung back like an injured cat.  


Tim stumbled to his feet an awkward silence in the air. Toby only stared with wide eyes panting like he had run a marathon.  


“I think your fine.” The words jumbled out of Tim’s mouth before he could stop. He gave an awkward cough and tried again.  


“You’re not going to die but I don’t think you need to come to me anymore. I’m not a doctor, I can’t fix you if somethings wrong.”

“Got it.” Toby gave a jerky nod before dashing out of the room so fast he crashed into Hoodie.  


Hoodie staggered inside looking at Tim as if he was the one who did it but even with the hateful look being thrown his way Tim was grateful for the tension in the room seemed to leave with his arrival.  


“That’s what you get for sneaking around.” Tim snorted imagining the indignant look that was probably being directed at him from under the mask.

Hoodie ignored him stalking over to his bed and purposefully flopping down so his back was to Tim. Petty bastard.  


…  


With Hoodie giving him the silent treatment Tim decided to take a well overdue trip down to the basement. It had once been free space like the rest of the manor, with creaky floorboards and flickering lights that gave the illusion of blood splattered walls, the usual, but ever since more killers had moved in it had been converted to be more homey.  


At least Tim thought that was what they tried to do, when one day he walked down to find the previously empty rooms filled with rusted hospital equipment and old ragdolls. Maybe they actually used that stuff, it wouldn’t surprise him.  


Going down the pitch-black basement stairs, because of course there wouldn’t be a light switch there, that would be too normal, he was almost grateful for the darkness. It prevented him from seeing any of the weird eldritch horrors that liked to watch from the cabinets or the eyes that peaked from cracks in the floor.  


On the other hand, he almost took his eye out on one of the rusty hooks hanging from the ceiling about three different times now, so you win some you lose some.  


But it was with great relief that he finally was able to find the room, which always seemed just a bit farther than the last time he was there. The door swung open almost as soon as he knocked revealing a gory mask.  


“Why are you here?”

“As to the point as ever, EJ.” Tim said trying to ignore fact that he was eye to eye- well eye to eye socket with a cannibal that could probably rip his throat out and then eat it if he wanted too.  
Jack didn’t say anything and Tim dropped his façade of friendliness.  


“Listen you were- are a doctor right?”  


The thing that was once a man nodded his head.  


“Perfect, I actually wanted to ask you something,” Tim glanced into the darkness before lowering his voice. “Have you ever studied the Sickness?”  


EJ tilted his head but did not reply and at first Tim thought that was his way of politely ignoring his question. After all who here didn’t recognize the symptoms of the Slender Sickness?  


However, Tim supposed that EJ was a rather new resident. It was easy to forget when time did not always apply itself to the house the same way it did elsewhere. And to one who had been there as long as Tim…well it was easy to forget how things should work.  


“Perhaps we better discuss this privately.” Tim said hoping Jack would take the hint. As dumb as it was to come down here, he was still not super eager to say the name of the Operator in his own domain. Too many ears liked to listen.  


EJ tilted his head again fingers tapping impatiently against the door.  


Tim sighed. “You have heard of the Slender Sickness, right?”  


“Oh.” EJ stopped tapping. “Come in. LJ has a bad habit of eavesdropping out here anyways.”  


As if brought for by his name a hideous cackling scraped against the stone walls rising in volume with every passing second and giving Tim the brief image of a gaggle of hyenas mouth agape with murderous glee. EJ practically bristled at the sound.  


“Shut up!” He snarled into the empty hallway. He grabbed Tim and shoved him inside, the door closing with a slam.  


“I hate clowns.” EJ muttered pushing ahead of Tim to stalk forward.  


He didn’t say anything as they walked but Tim was content to follow. EJ always portrayed himself as a private individual. It was no surprise he chose to isolate himself in his room. But because of that Tim had no idea where he was going.  


EJ stopped and Tim just managed to save himself from running into his back. That blue mask turned towards Tim.  


“I don’t usually get visitors.” He said, an almost apologetic tone in his voice, before stepping to the side and letting Tim into the next room.  


It appeared to be a small den, furnished with a single black armchair that stood in exactly the center of the room and a small shelf that hung on the wall adjacent to it.  


“It’s fine. I’ll stand.” Tim said, having no intension or desire to stay long.  


“Sit.” EJ said walking away.  


Tim settled at the edge of the seat running his hand down ripped leather. He figured it would be best to stay on the creature’s good side, at least until he got what he wanted.  


It wasn’t like the place was awful either. The room was clean, with no rotting limbs or splashes of blood anywhere, which Tim greatly appreciated. He’d hate to see one of EJ’s unfinished meals. However, there wasn’t much to look at except for the shelf lined with a few thin notebooks and what looked like bits of trash.  


A horrible crash sounded from the other room before EJ slunk back inside, transparent blue journal clutched tightly in his claws reminiscent to ones Tim vaguely remembered seeing in his college library, on the rare occasions Brian would drag him there on searches for certain medical texts.  


“I had to grab my journal.”  


“Great.”  


The collection of pages was handed to him with more care than Tim thought the thing was capable of.  


The first page was made up of names, most of them were inked out and it wasn’t until Tim found both Alex and Jay’s that he realized it marked who was dead. His own name was also crossed out but to his surprise a little star had been drawn next to it.  


He looked up to EJ who was quietly watching. “Why is m-Tim Wright’s name different from all the rest?”

“Well if I had known you were going to come back to life, I would never have used pen. It ruined my list,” EJ said with a look that made it obvious he blamed Tim for this.

“And Brian?” He asked ignoring EJ’s accusatory tone.  


Jack didn’t say anything.  


“Yeah that’s fair.”  


The next page’s title matched the first name on the list. It appeared to be a list of symptoms which Tim scanned but ultimately ignored and flipped to the next page. Thankfully the journal looked rather thin but EJ’s handwriting was cramped and hard to decipher and it took Tim a while to read through each page.  


“Most of your group is towards the back.” EJ supplied helpfully. “As the initial carriers I designed it as sort of a reverse cladogram with everyone you affected branching off somewhere along the line. It’s really quiet fascinating you know. Of course it’s incomplete as I only had Jay’s videos to go off of, but what I wouldn’t give to have a full documentary on your life. Imagine how much information I’m missing, how many people you’ve infected that just weren’t captured on tape…” EJ trailed off thinking about it.  


Tim ignored him. Choosing to file the information into his ‘reasons it would have been better if I had died before I was born’ folder. Perfect for a late night break down. Instead he went to the back where he found each of their names written in dark ink.  


Tim had to hand it to EJ, as creepy as it was to think about him watching hours of the worst moments of his life the information was detailed. It was exactly like he was reliving it, only with random theories scrawled into the margins of each page.  


“So you know the symptoms? Like the cough and random blackouts-“  


“I’ve seen the videos.” EJ cut him off.  


“Okay well do you have any ideas on what could stop them? Preferably without any pills.” It was nerve wracking just talking about this. He had never discussed it with anyone other than Jay but…Tim wanted, no, needed to know. And really there was no better person to ask than EJ, who was not only a doctor but practically a stranger to the ways of the Operator. With luck they’d have no ties at all.  


EJ shrugged his shoulders. “Most people don’t live past their twenties. I guess I could look into it but I doubt I would find anything concrete.”  


Tim stood up. “No it’s fine. Thanks anyways.”  


“You’re welcome. Come back soon Tim.”  


He froze.  


“Why did you call me Tim?”  


“I thought it would be fine. If you like I can refer to you as Masky like everyone else.”  


“But how did you know?” He looked the cannibal in the face.  


EJ’s nonexistent eyes rolled. “Unlike most of the people I’ve met here I’m not a complete dumbass. Finding a man that addressed himself as Masky and wore the exact same clothes you do wasn’t hard. Just be glad no one else is smart enough to do a background check.”  


“I see.” Tim forced himself to calm. “You didn’t tell anyone?”  


“Tim, I like my privacy just as much as you do. But if I were you, I’d delete all the videos of you with the mask.”  


“Thanks, EJ.” Tim breathed a sigh of relief. “Thanks.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Me to me: I will NOT make EJ a part of this story  
> Me ten minutes later:
> 
> Also to everyone leaving comments I really love and appreciate you and hope you have a great day they mean so much to me.

**Author's Note:**

> SO glad to get this chapter over with I feel like it was all filler. I have some stuff I really want to add but it just makes me feel sad thinking about it. It's not even really dark, I'm just a wimp.


End file.
